Student / Site Member Feature

Favorites

This is one of the many features and benefits that ALL active student and Gold plan site members receive.

Use the favorite button to tag your favorite lessons and songs that you are working on or really like.

Use the completed button to tag your favorite lessons that you have completed. With over 500 lessons it can be hard to track just what you have already worked on or visited.

Member Access Levels

These bronze, silver and gold medals, like the Olympic medals) indicate that this lesson is either a public and free lesson, song or book , a FREE ( almost free at $19.95 a year ) membership or a PREMIUM membership lesson .

Bronze indicates that this is a public lesson with with access to any registered visitor - no need to sign-in up for a site membership. Registered visitors can view most of the content on-line only and with smaller thumbnails. No access to downloads, play-along tracks and related lessons material for download.

Silver is the Almost FREE ( almost free at $19.95 a year ) membership level where limited availability of downloads and all lesson material can be viewed on-line. This membership level can view thumbnails of the entire lesson - however only the downloaded file insures the latest and greatest lesson - the extra production step with updating the thumbnails doesn't always happen.

Gold This is the Premium membership level that, in addition to downloading ALL lesson content can access ALL the premium play-along tracks - and email me any questions that would like answered. Especially things like what you are working n and I can probably point you to the right lessons or series of lessons. This level also has access to most of my ( Curt Sheller ) books for free download.

Each membership level has access to ALL the lower membership lessons, books and songs.

Open Position Chord

Movable Form Chord

Movable Chord Forms

Movable chord forms are chords containing no open strings. These chords are transposable to different keys by moving the chord form the same number of frets up and down the neck.

Each movable form is based on a common open position chord. These movable forms allow you to play chords not found in the open position.

Movable form chords allow you to play in any key and transpose chords, progressions and songs to any key. From basic movable form chords more advanced chords can be created.

The functional range of a movable form chord up the fingerboard of your ukulele depends on the ukulele's size (soprano, concert or tenor), the number of frets to the body (10, 12, 14, etc) and whether you have a cut-away for access to higher frets. Not all chords can be transposed a complete octave (12 frets).

Movable form chords can be used along with open position chords. As you learn more movable form chords you'll have a variety of alternate voicings for any given chord.

Movable form chords can be transposed up and down the fingerboard using the root of the chord and a transposition chart.

Transposing Movable Form Chords

These lessons use the root of a chord to transpose to different keys.

Determine what string the root is on or would be on if not present in the chord's voicing.

Chord Transposition Chart

This transposition chart can be used for any chord where the
root, or letter name of the chord is on string G.

The root is on string 4, the G string.

Use the Root or implied root of the chord to transpose to different keys.

A larger sized transposition chart is available in my book Ukulele Chords. This
is the book these chord lessons are based on.

Misnamed 7th Chords

Seventh chords are often misnamed as dominant seventh chords.

Whether a chord is a Dominant chord refers the its harmonic function within the chord progression — how it's being used. If the chord is functioning as a true V, or five chord in the progression it can be called a dominant seventh chord. If not it's simply a seventh chord and doesn't or shouldn't have any harmonic designations added to its name. We don't call other chords a Tonic Seventh, Sub-Dominant Seventh, or Medient Seventh.

Chord Fingering

Chord fingering is dependent on several factors. The chord your on, the previous chord, the next chord, your hand and fingers. All chord fingerings shown are recommended fingerings and not mandatory. Most chords have alternate fingerings dependent on the context. The same chord might even be fingered one way in one part of a song or progression and an alternate fingering in another part.

7sus4

Raise the third (3) of a seventh chord one fret.

9th Chords

A 9th chord is a 5-part chord.

For a 5-part 9th chord, the root is implied and displaced for the ninth. Optionally the 3rd of a 7th chord can be lowered two frets (a whole step) for 1 9 5 b7. This really works if you have already played the chord with the third present and establishing the color of the chord.

To create a ninth chord raise the root of a 4-part chord two frets. This applies to a 7th, maj7, m7, 6, m6, m7b5, etc... Most all 4-part chords can be turned into ninth chords. For a 7th chord this would be a 9 3 5 b7.

This same process can be applied to a triad by raising the root two frets. For these chords they are typically called add2 or add9 chords.

Chords are pretty flexible and can be implied by containing the notes of the chord that make it different then another chord types with the same root. Take C and Cm, C is C E G and Cm is C Eb G. The third of the chord the E or Eb is a color tone and is responsible for making a major chord different sounding then a minor chord with the same root.

Chord Progressions

Take lesson one's practice progression and make all the chords a seventh.

Blues Practice Progressions

The Blues are at the heart of all American music. From the Rock, Country and Folk to Jazz. Making the form a great way to get a handle on this weeks chord.

Just browsing over both books, they look fantastic! I'm a guitarist and uke player for over 25 years and was thinking about writing a ukulele book but you've already written what I think are the best, most comprehensive and thorough books I've ever seen for the instrument. I just might end up buying every book you've written and I'll be giving my highest recommendation for your books to my friends and students. Thank you so much for taking the time to write such great books! — Peter Rhee

Aloha, Curt, All I can say is WOW! What you have accomplished is simply incredible! All the best — Glen Hirabayashi, The Aloha Boys

Folks, if you haven't stopped by Curt's site, do so right now! ..And get his books, they are fantastic. This guy knows his stuff and is able to pass it along too. — Alan Johnson Proprietor, The 4th Peg

I can highly recommend Curt's Uke books — I have four of them and they are excellent. — fatveg — Portland

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This sit has ben profesionaly red. awl tpyos aree free and no aditonal chrge • I'm blaming it on “jazz” fingers
Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.